Jerry Jones on the Redskins

Yes, there is much to bemoan about the state of the Redskins. Yes, the rival Cowboys — while also resembling a smoking pile of burning diapers at times — could still win a division title.

Still, I just listened to 20 minutes of Jerry Jones talking about his team on Dallas’s 105.3 The Fan, and that made Washington’s situation feel a tiny bit better.

The last question of the interview — and the reason I listened — concerned the Redskins.

“I know how tight you are with Dan Snyder, going through a tough season over there with the RGIII injuries and the Mike Shanahan drama,” said Shan Shariff, the co-host of New School with Shan and RJ. “How much are you paying attention to that Redskins situation with your good buddy Dan Snyder over there?”

“Well, I don’t say that I’ve spent a lot of direct time on it, but I’m very aware of what’s going on all over the NFL, in all 32 cities, and all 32 teams,” Jones said. “And most of our fans have some knowledge of what’s going on. But it’s not rosy over in those areas, too, and they have their ups and downs, and they have their [path to work?]. But that’s what this thing is all about.

“Barry Switzer, our coach, used to tell the team, I’m your wagon master, we’re back in the covered wagon days, we’re going to California. We’ve got to cross the Mississippi River to get there. A lot of you are gonna die. We’re gonna have new faces as we go along the way, we’re gonna burn some of these wagons for firewood, float the Mississippi with others. This train is gonna get to California. I’m gonna try to be on it; I hope you’re on it.

“And so that’s kind of the nature of the challenge of an NFL season,” Jones continued — remember, in response to a question about the Redskins. “And it’s right here in front of everybody to look at, and that’s as it should be. How we get there, what we do and how we adjust. We are having a rough time of it over what happened to us the other day, and I know we are – as fans and as everybody involved with the Dallas Cowboys.”

I mean, when you get asked about the Redskins and you start talking about people dying on the way to California, that’s a pretty good interview.

If you want to be even happier, there was this.

“The main thing is, everything is in place, every incentive is here to do everything we can to win a Super Bowl,” Jones said, talking about his up-and-down club. “It’s often said well why don’t I get someone to be the GM, why don’t I get someone to pick the players? Well who in the world do you think that person – when they walk through the door and say we want to get this player and we want to pay this player – what in the world do you think I’m gonna do? I’m gonna sit down, and I’m gonna go through it, and I’m gonna say show me the player. Show me everything about the player. Before I write the check, show me the player and let me see everything about the player. Well, rather than have that happen I get involved in it and know everything there is to know about the players before they get to the door. Now that, if you’ve got the time to do it, that’s a better way to do it. ”